


The Fine Line Between

by Shinxshimaru



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Aggitation of Injury, Bullying, Cussing, Description of injuy, Good dad Takaaki, Imaginary Friend gone too far, M/M, Naegi gets punched, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possession, Slight horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2019-11-26 02:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18174359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinxshimaru/pseuds/Shinxshimaru
Summary: Once upon a time there was a boy who was alone.Once upon a time there was a boy who wasn't real.-There was something off about Ishimaru. His classmates begin to see the extent of this.Someone unseen walks the fine line of being real.





	1. Chapter 1

    _Once upon a time there was a boy who was alone.  
_**Once upon a time there was a boy who wasn't real.**

   _The boy who was alone spent his days looking for a friend.  
_**The boy who wasn't real had no life to live.**

   _Day in and day out the boy remained alone._  
**Day in and day out the boy remained fictitious.**

   _Then, one day the boy made a choice. He decided that if he couldn't find a friend, he would make one. The boy sat down, made himself comfortable in the green summer grass, and told himself exactly what kind of person his friend would be. "He'll be just like me," The boy spoke to no one but himself,"but he'll be better...at least at the things I can't do. He'll carry on where I can't. He can stand up for himself, for the both of us! We'll depend on each other. We'll need each other."_  
**Then, one day the boy became real.**

—  
    Things changed after that.

    Kiyotaka had been a not quite normal child who worked too hard and had been loved too little. The change was subtle, but it was there. More specifically, someone else was there. Kiyotaka couldn't see it, but he felt the others presence, sometimes in the most literal sense. A squeeze to his empty hand, or the slightest pressure, not unlike a hand resting, on an unoccupied shoulder. Most of the time, however, it was something he less felt and more sensed. As if he was aware of someone standing just out of his line of sight. To outside viewers, no one was there, but Kiyotaka knew, even if he couldn't see anyone either, he was there.

    The most compelling evidence was his voice. It was obvious only Kiyotaka could hear him. His voice was like a whisper by his ear, as if the very sound of it was a secret to the rest of the world. It wasn't even scary the first time he spoke, it was actually quite comforting, an auditory equivalent of being taken by the hand. It was so nice to speak with someone else, someone who didn't ridicule him. Kiyotaka spent the first nights asking as many questions as he could before sleep took him. What was his name? Was he happy here? Did he want to be Kiyotakas friend?

    His name was Ishida

    He was happy to be here.

    Of course he wanted to be his friend.

    Ishida promised him that no matter what he would be there for Kiyotaka. No one could change his mind and no one could take him away. He promised that as long as he was around, no one else would hurt Kiyotaka again. Kiyotaka went to bed the happiest he had been in years, maybe in his life.

    Ishida made good on his promise a few days later.

    There was always someone who made it their business to make sure Kiyotaka wasn't happy. Sometimes it was just words and sometimes they used force. Kiyotaka found himself running away from three boys after school. They had chased him nearly three blocks away from school grounds, and he wasn't really sure where he was anymore. His legs aches and his breath was ragged. Turning into the next alley he came to, his heart jumped into his throat as he came face to face with a brick wall. There was no turning around, he could hear footsteps getting closer quickly. They were going to find him and he couldn't get away. Through the panic Ishida made himself known.

    "Kiyo...Kiyo? Kiyo calm down..."

    "I can't! I can't! They want to hurt me!"

    "I wont let them if you let me in."

    Let him in? "...Ok."

    It was hard to describe the feeling that came over Kiyotaka. All of a sudden it became hard for him to take in what was going on around him. It was like he was constantly fighting off sleep. Every single one of his senses felt muddy and unclear, he wasn't sure he still had some of them. His vision faded in and out as he watched as one of the boys came around the corner only to meet a fist that looked like his own. Even when he heard a muffled crunch, he felt no impact. He couldn't form proper thoughts like this, it took too much out of him. It wasn't long till every sense failed him, and he had no way to tell what was going on, or how long he was gone.

    Then suddenly he was back. Kiyotaka stood alone in the bathroom of his own home in front of the sink starring into the mirror, staring at the large black and blue spot under his eye. He could feel throbbing in his hands and could hear the running water and could taste copper in his mouth. He glanced down at his hands. The bandages wrapped around his knuckles were dotted red. His hands shook as he turned the water off, and then a voice spoke up.

    "I'm sorry. You still got hurt."

    Ishida...He got Kiyotaka home, got him out of that alley. Kiyotaka left and returned to his bedroom. He sat on his bed and pulled his blankets around him. Like every night before, Kiyotaka began to ask questions.

    "What did you do?"

    "You let me in...so I could protect you."

    "Did you hurt those other boys?"

    "Yes. I'm sorry, they were going to hurt you and I was scared.

    So Ishida also got scared? Kiyotaka found it hard to get mad at him. He had been scared as well. That and he had a more important question to ask.

    "The way I felt when I let you in... Is that what it's like for you all the time?"

    "Yes...but you make it better."

    He wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was hard to imagine living a life like that. It had already been hard to experience that for however long he did. Kiyotaka was figureing out his next question when, for once, Ishida asked him a question.

    "Kiyo...? Do you think I could be real one day?"

    It definitely caught him off guard, but he didn't need to think about his answer to such a loaded question.

    "You're real to me."

    Neither asked any more questions after that. Kiyotaka held out his hand. Someone who wasn't there held it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, the boy was invited to a place where he could make his dreams come true.  
> Years later, the boy followed his only friend as he left home to do more with his life.  
> -  
> A letter arrives at the Ishimaru residence.  
> This means change.

    _Years later, the boy was invited to a place where he could make his dreams come true._  
 **Years later, the boy followed his only friend as he left home to do more with his life.**

     _Here, the boy found himself surrounded by new faces._  
 **Here, the boy found himself searching for anyone who would pose a threat.**

_He told himself he would befriend those he would spend his life here with._   
**He told himself he would do all he could to see his friend safe.**

—

    Kiyo had nearly torn the letter in half. Ishida felt a panic rise in his being, and he tugged down on his hand, trying to get him to put it down if it upset him so much. "No, no. This is ok. This is great even." Kiyo spoke to him, nearly giggling. Panic subsided, warmth returned. 

    "Tell me then." he asked. Kiyo loved sharing good news, Ishida would always be an ear for him even if most of the time he was also present for what ever he was excited for. This time it was a genuine curiosity. Kiyos smile was infectious.

    "We're going to be going somewhere special." Kiyo started. Going somewhere? Ishida felt tension in himself. Kiyo never strayed far, and neither did he. Where would they go? "I was accepted into a place called Hopes Peak. It's a school, a really good school." Schools were good, Kiyo liked school. School made Kiyo happy, if Kiyo was happy then so was he. At least as close as whatever he was could get.

    Don't. He's real to Kiyo. That's what matters.

    It sounded like Kiyo was going to go on about this place, but then the door opened. "Daddy!" Kiyo turned and almost sprint towards the front door of the home. Ishida barely had time to register he was alone before his senses very suddenly dulled. God this was always the worst. Kiyo made him so much better. 

    He followed, slowly, missing the clarity Kiyo gave him. It used to be so much worse, begin on his own, he'd grown stronger over time. It didn't change that he felt the best with Kiyo. It was hard to judge how long it took him to get back to Kiyo. Seconds and minutes tended to blur together. He made it though, and the world cleared up. He squeezed his hand to let him know. Kiyo clenched his hand quickly, as if trying to squeeze back as a 'sorry.'

    Ishida only noticed Takaaki when he let out a laugh, and suddenly scooped up Kiyo into a hug. He even attempted to lift his son, and succeed a little, getting Kiyo off his feet, before groaning and having to put him down to rub his back. "Not as light as you used to be..." Kiyo only laughed.

    There was a letter in Takaaki's hand. The same letter Kiyo had. He must have shared it with him. Ishida was a silent witness as they made plans.

—

    Kiyo didn't say they'd be living there. 

    Maybe the bags should have tipped him off.

    He looked so happy to be here. Kiyo threw his bag over his shoulder, let Takaaki hug him and kiss his forehead, and set a quick pace towards the entrance. Ishida was normally quick to follow, he stayed behind for just a moment. He normally doesn't try to get the attention of others often, knowing he can't, but maybe the moment got to him.

    Ishida reached out and tried to squeeze Takaakis hand, like he normally would to Kiyo. Maybe this was his attempt to say goodbye. The proud father looked down at the hand he touched, and flexed it, seemingly confused.

    Huh... weird.

    Ishida left to find Kiyo.

    It was odd. He didn't feel as muted as he normally would without Kiyo. It still wasn't as clear as it was with him, but he didn't have to much trouble finding him. Maybe this place would be good for both of them. He almost felt solid at the idea.

    Kiyo wasn't alone. He was talking to a man. A tall man, long hair standing on end and sticking out everywhere. Looked messy... didn't even wear his jacket correctly. Instead it was barely holding onto his shoulders. Kiyo looked happy, but Ishida had to be sure. Finally coming up to him, Ishida rested a hand on Kiyos shoulder. He subtly rolled his shoulders back to let him know he was felt.

    Then the mans face changed. He'd been smiling. Now he looked confused. Had Kiyo asked a question? Said something he found strange? Ishida put himself between the two, intent to observe. If he was a danger to Kiyo...he needed to know. This man wouldn't get away with hurting him. The mans face changed again. Eyes wide, eyebrows furrowed, jaw tense.

    "Hagakure! Are you alright? You look pale, you may want to go to the infirmary." Kiyo noticed now. Ishida watched as he reached out to the taller man. He had a name, Hagakure. Kiyo didn't get a chance to do whatever he had planed. Hagakure took a fast, shaky step back. Away from Kiyo.

    Ishida felt Kiyos hurt.

    Ishida felt fire.

    "N-nah man! I'm fine! J-just first day jitters ya know!" The mans voice shook. Ishida stepped closer. The man retreated further. It was like the longer Ishida focused on him, the more uneasy he became. He wasn't going to think too hard about it. This one was hurting Kiyo.

    That wouldn't stand.

    "I've got to go now! See ya Ishi-chi!" Little more then a moment later they were alone. He returned his focus to Kiyo. He was stood there and Ishida heard him mumbling.

    "I must have done... something wrong?" He's unsure. Ishida had to fix this. A gentle squeeze, and Kiyo held out his hand. Ishida held tight. 

    "Nothings wrong, he doesn't matter."

    Kiyo shook his head, "Its only the first day, I'll be able to fix it. Plus, there are so many other students to meet!" He was smiling again. That was good. "Lets go find them."

    Kiyo put his hand down. Ishida refused to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick shout out to IsTheMedia for telling me about the concept of Tulpa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa) It's the closest thing I can point to to explain whats up with Ishida in this fic.
> 
> Don't expect regular updates, or updates so quickly. I'm not normally this quick.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, life continued, and the boy threw himself into his studies.  
> And so, life continued, and the boy watched over his friend as normal.  
> -  
> You never know when you have eyes on you.

_And so, life continued, and the boy threw himself into his studies._  
**And so, life continued, and the boy watched over his friend as normal.**

_It wasn't long, however, until the boys classmates began to notice strange things about him._  
**It wasn't long, however, until the boy noticed strange behavior from his friends classmates.**

—

    So some of them were oddballs, a little off the rails. That was kinda a given. Sometimes you had to be a little nutty in the head to stick with something long enough to get good at it, much less be the best. It's hard to blame the students of Hopes Peak for their oddities 

    Leon wondered if that was too generous an assumption for this case.

    It was actually kinda embarrassing how much of the first few weeks he spent in some sort of trouble. He's not trying to! It's just not great at being told hes wrong, even if its just advice... Whatever, not important. Whats important is that he's spent much more time then he normally would have with Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

    Besides a few glaring issues, it wasn't all that bad, could have been way worse. Unfortunately, those previously mentioned 'issues' had soured any positive outlook he could have taken away from the encounters. It was one thing to be an odd one out.

    It was another to be plucked straight out of the Twilight Zone.

    Maybe all those angry old people who wrote articles about TV and video games making kids crazy were right. It made more sense then the things Leon saw being real. Probably. It was getting harder to justify that train of thought the more surreal shit he saw though.

    The first abnormality still made him shiver, in the slow afternoons when his mind looks for whatever to entertain himself and stumbles onto the memory. It had been during the first week after they all arrived. Didn't take that long for a fight to break out, who thought it was a good idea to have a Gang Leader and Moral Compass in the same damn class anyway!? No fists had started flying yet, but it was clear their 'debate' in the cafeteria that morning was escalating, quick. Leon wouldn't put it past the big guy to throw the first punch after the next word out of loudmouth.

    Leon must have been having a fleeting moment of sensibility, as he got up from his table, planning to tell them to just chill out before they went overboard. Probably safer to get the attention of the goody two-shoes with his back turned to him first, trying to disrupt the much larger, much angrier man was more likely to give him a black eye then the time of day.

    He'd hardly taken two steps, maybe less, before stopping dead in his tracks. Ishimaru had not shifted an inch in front of him, but just to his left, the reflection in the window had suddenly whipped around, bright red eyes locked onto Leon, as if waiting for him to make another move. His breath caught in his throat, wide eyes refusing to break contact, as he tried to make sense of what was in front of him. 

    In his stare down he hardly registered Naegi walk up to the two, and attempt to break them up as he had planed. It was only when Oowada practically sent the so called luckster flying that he tore his eyes away. He'd looked away for barely more then a second, but when he snapped his gaze back, he only saw that Ishimaru had finally turned to face Naegi, and his reflection returned to normal. Leon didn't stick around to see if it would stay that way. 

    For days he tried to convince himself that he'd been tired that morning, or sick, or something. Just trying to ignore how real that felt. It was easily the most bizarre of the encounters.

    There was only more to come. Nearly a week later, he found himself alone with Ishimaru. Leon had stopped, hearing a voice he'd been overly aware of since the first incident, just before turning the corner in the hallway. 

    "You're making this sound worse then it is..."

    Silence

    "Don't act like that..."

    He poked his head out, just enough to look past the corner, and laid eyes on Ishimaru, alone, his back to him once again. He wasn't speaking as he normally did in class, loud and clear. Instead, he mumbled, only a few words really audible from where Leon was standing.

    "I said its fine..."

    No response.

    "...worry too much."

    He shouldn't be here. He was listening in on something he should not be present for. He had no idea who Ishimaru was talking to but he didn't need to right now. Leon turned around, he could circle around, it didn't matter.

    "Just don't hurt anyone this time, please?"

    Leon took off in a sprint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never written Leon before I think? So that was an interesting experience.  
> Comments appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were some who chose to antagonize the boy for his oddities.  
> There were some who the boy knew would be a bigger danger then others.  
> -  
> Mondo picks a fight  
> and pays the price
> 
> Tw: Description of Injuy, Agitation of injury

_There were some who chose to antagonize the boy for his oddities._ **  
**There were some who the boy knew would be a bigger danger then others.** **

__But the boy would not let them bring him to the ground. He was stronger then that.He was not afraid.__ **  
**But the boy would not let them hurt the one he cared for. He would stop them before they could. He was not afraid.** **

—

    It was starting to get on his nerves.

    The hall monitor had been running his mouth since the period started and Mondo had honestly lost track of whatever he was talking about by this point. Fucking doubt it was anything important anyway. Mondo didn’t bother holding in a yawn, it was too early in the morning for this. Resting his head in his hand he stared idly at the clock, letting his mind wander. God, he was still going on and on over there! You think one of these days he would learn no one actually wants to hear him talk the entire time! Maybe someone just needs to knock it in to him. One solid hit outta get the point across. Mondo chucked to himself, hell he’ll do it himself if no one else will.

    He lazily turned his head over to the mentioned stick-in-the-mud, who had finally stopped talking in favor of listening to whatever that Naegi kid was on about. Asshole stood like like his spine was a flagpole. Doesn’t that hurt after a while? He was standing by Naegi’s desk probably talking about a project or whatever.

    Mondo’s eyes wandered down the row. Hagakure’s desk sat right behind Naegi’s and… he looked pretty uncomfortable. He was partially bent over the desk and refused to look up from the floor. His expression, at least what little he could see, made him look like he was on trial or something.

    Fucking weird.

    After Hagakure was Kuwata’s desk and he- Has he always been so pale? Alright hang on, he looks even worse then Hagakure. Hell from where Mondo was sitting it looked like he might be shaking as well. At least he was sat up straight but his eyes were locked onto his desk. Between the two of them you’d think someone’s been killed.

    Mondo eyes snapped between the two, mouth falling open as if ready to ask, but he shut it and shook his head. Whatever. Not his business. Mondo turned back to watching the clock.

    Hardly 5 minutes had passed.

    Fucking hell.

—

    Mondo doesn’t stick around for the last bit of class. He snuck out of the class room during a short break and decided he’d rather just wonder off and get lost in the hallways. Didn’t last long till he got caught.

    “Stop right there, Oowada!” Mondo threw back his head and groaned as he heard the hall monitor shout behind him. Of course it was gonna be him. How the hell did he even find him? “You are meant to be in class right now! If you come back with me now, I won’t even have to give you detention.” Alright, he’ll bite. Mondo spun around to face Ishimaru and leaned down to eye level.

    “Why bother? Class is about to end anyway, probably before we even get back. No point then.” Perfectly timed, the school bell rang out as Mondo finished his sentence. He smugly tilted his head and pointed up with a smirk. “See? I ain’t missing class now, am I?” Man Ishimaru looked like he was going to fucking explode. His face was red and it seemed he was biting his lip to keep from shouting. “Now,” Mondo started back up, grabbing Ishimaru by the collar and pulling him up slightly. “Get outta here, and leave me alone.” He let go of his collar, letting him drop, and turned to walk away.

    If only that had been the end of it.

    Instead Mondo gasped as he was stopped in his tracks. His wrist had been grabbed and GOD it hurt like HELL! What the fuck was up with the hall monitors death grip! Mondo turned back towards Ishimaru, fully intending to punch his lights out, only to find he was still standing a few paces away, glaring at him. Hands at his sides. No one else was even close.

    The grip on his wrist only got tighter, and began to hurt even more then it already had.

    His eyes flicked between Ishimaru and his wrist, his brain jumping through hoops trying to make sense of what was going on. Either his confusion or his pain must have shown on his face, as Ishimaru’s glare softened to one of confusion as well. Just as he took a step towards him, probably ready to ask what he was still doing there, whatever had been holding on to Mondo let go. Mondo quickly pulled the assaulted arm up to his chest defensively. His vision dropped once more to his wrist, then back to the man in front of him.

    He didn’t waste anymore time getting out of that hallway.

—

 

    Mondo lay in bed the early morning of the next day, awake despite the hour. Sleep seemed to elude him last night, but no matter how heavy his eyelids felt he couldn't bring himself to close them and rest. No, his bleary gaze was busy taking in the sight he held in front of him.

    Slowly his other hand came up, nearly dragging along his opposite arm. Fingers wrapped around his own wrist, cautiously, despite this being about the 4th time hes done this since the sun began to rise. After a moment of hesitation, he took a small breath, and gently squeezed.

    The silence of the room was shattered with a sharp gasp of pain.

    He immediately released his wrist and twisted his now free hand into the sheets. Mondo tried to control his breathing as his entire forearm throbbed in pain. The pain only confirmed that this was real, something he already knew. Even still he couldn't tear his eyes away from the massive, bruised hand print encircling his wrist. The ugly shades of purples and blacks had him in an almost hypnotic trance. It felt like hours before he finally looked away. Sitting up, he glanced over at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

    6:57 A.M.

    You know what, that’s good enough. Mondo finally threw off the covers and began to shuffle through his drawers, figuring there was no point in staying in bed any longer. After throwing on a tank top and a baggy pair of pants, he tugged on his classic long gang jacket and checked the sleeves. They ended about where his wrist ended and covered up the bruise, but the sleeves were pretty wide so he would have to be careful when he moved his arms around. He didn't want anyone to see that and ask questions he didn't have answers for.

    Mondo eventually left his room, and made his way down the hall, no real destination in mind. Maybe he could get into the nurses office and get some ice or something, or maybe that would draw to much attention. That line of thought was very suddenly interrupted when a hand wrapped around his injured arm. This whole situation was far to familiar for comfort for Mondo. The only thing that stopped him from crying out in pain was his gasp of surprise as someone spoke to him.

    "Hey...can we talk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one I was excited for  
> I actually wrote the last part first at about 3 am  
> Comments appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But those who saw the how strange the boy truly was began their search for answers.  
> But those who saw him had no idea what they were up against.  
> —  
> What happens when questions don't have answers

_But those who saw the how strange the boy truly was began their search for answers._   
**But those who saw him had no idea what they were up against.**

_They would soon have more questions then answers._   
**They would soon learn.**

—

Leon was sure that Ishimaru was the only thing that could weird him out anymore. It was pretty hard to top ‘seemingly malicious supernatural presence’, or whatever he had going on with him, on the freak scale after all.

But that was before he was woken up at the early hour of Go-the-fuck-back-to-bed, and then dragged off to Hagakure’s room, only to be sat at a table and left to his own devices with no explanation immediately after. Turns out the little things could still get to him.

Feeling awkward in another mans room, Leon sat still in the seat Hagakure pulled out for him, taking in his surroundings and trying to keep from dozing off. It was all he could really do until he came back and explained himself…

He was coming back right?

The door opened with a click. He whipped his head around and watched as Hagakure reentered the bedroom, dragging in a very off-put Oowada of all people by the arm behind him.

Yeah, the little things could absolutely still weird him out.

Hagakure pulled out the seat next to Leon and all but forced Oowada to sit down, similar to how he had basically thrown Leon around earlier. Oddly, Oowada didn’t put up much a fight, instead he let himself be sat and crossed his arms tight against his chest as soon as Hagakure released his grip on him. Leon might have been wrong, but he swore he even heard him let out a breath he was holding as soon as he was let go.

Oowada seemed to only just now notice him there, turning toward him and quirking an eyebrow.

Leon’s too dumbstruck to give him any more then a small wave.

Sweet, not awkward at all…

“Alright!” Hagakure calls for their attention a bit too loudly, slamming his hands down on the table they all circle for emphasis. Its enough to get a jump out of both of the other two in the room. He at least looks a little sheepish after, figuring that was a bit much. He gets over it quick. “So, I’ve called you both here for the same reason, something we’ve all seen. Something… not right. ” He quieted down but he was still at an intensity that Leon have never really seen from him before. Its was strange to say the least. Another weird thing to start this weird day.  
Something suggests it won’t get any better from here.

Then the words catch up to him. And suddenly he’s nervous again. Was Hagakure talking about Ishimaru? Did he also see the strange things Leon had seen? Oowada too? Leon took a chance and glanced over at him. Oowada seemed to be trying to stare down Hagakure with grit teeth. He had such a tight grip on the sleeve of his gang jacket that Leon was worried he might tear it.

Oowada caught his gaze out of the corner of his eye.

Leon looked forward again.

Maybe it was something else, some ridiculous, fake, conspiracy theory thing Hagakure believed was real and convinced himself they were involved. If Leon spoke up about what he saw they’d think he was crazy. Well, Oowada definitely would, Hagakure would latch on to it and reveal to everyone his delusions. Just stay quiet, what were the chances what he saw was real anyway.

“I’m talking about whatever it is going on with Ishimaru. I know you’ve seen it too.”

Leon thinks he might have let out a whimper.

Thankfully it was likely drowned out by the near growl Oowada let out.

Hagakure took account of their reactions. “I see you know exactly what I mean. There’s something else there, like, some freaky ghost attached to him or something like that. Here,” He turned away from the two of them and started to take out something that had been tucked in hidden behind the desk in the room. It turned out to a large cork board, in fact, that was a cork board that was part of the dorm; Leon had one in his room as well, a quick glance around the room proved that it had to be, didn’t realize you could take those down.

“I knew that- hup, something was up since- oof, since day one!” With a little effort, Hagakure managed to prop up the board facing them. “Thing is I’m still not sure what.” Oh god damn it, Leon could hardly believe what he was looking at. Hagakure had actually just set up a god damned conspiracy board in front of them. Could this get any more ridiculous?

The board was mostly covered with various notes pinned to it. Some parts of the board were sectioned and labeled. One area labeled ‘Possible Explanations’ had a list of words that Leon was varying levels of familiar with: ‘Poltergeist’, ‘Telepathy’, ‘Tulpa’, ‘Possession..’ this was all so crazy. Another section was labeled ‘Behavior’ and the notes pinned under it seemed to be actual observations. ‘Semi-Physical interactions’, ‘Own will’, ‘Protective’

‘Angry’

What where they getting into?

“You think its some sorta ghost or some shit?” Oowada finally spoke up, nearly making Leon jump out of his own skin. Its way to easy to scare him these days.

“Can you think of any other explanation?” Hagakure asked, sounding a bit smug.

Oowada grunted, but didn’t actually argue with him.

Hagakure took a second to enjoy his small victory before gesturing to places on the board. “That’s basically my thought process though. Ishimaru seems to have some sort of paranormal force attached to him. I don’t really know what it’s limits are, like how far it can get away from him and stuff like that. I don’t think Ishi even knows its there so it’s-”

“He knows” Why did he speak up.

He knew the both of them were staring now, even if he couldn’t life his gaze from the table, he could feel eyes on him.

“...He does..?” Hagakure tried to prompt him to continue. Leon finally lifted his head, looking forward but not quite at either of them.

“Yeah..” his voice felt way to quiet, “I heard him talking to it.” When did his throat get so dry? “He asked it not to hurt anyone…this time.”

The other two had grown pale.

Leon felt sick.

Oowada cleared his throat. “Well…it didn’t exactly listen to him…” He laid the arm he had been clutching out on the table, and pulled back the sleeve

Leon thought he felt sick before, but after laying eyes on the blotchy blacks and purples that implied a grisly pain that spanned Oowadas wrist he had to tear his eyes away and throw a hand over his mouth, his stomach lurched at the idea of receiving a mark like that.  

A water bottle was pressed into his hands. “Alright…so this thing is… a bigger threat then I thought…” Hagakure said, suddenly next to him instead of on the other end of the table. There was fabric shuffling behind him, hopefully Oowada putting his arm away. “Something…somethings gotta be done about this…”

Leon had to agree with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean I haven't updated in over a month  
> but seriously sorry, i took 2 trips out of state and it threw off what little schedule i had  
> hopefully the chapter makes up for it!

**Author's Note:**

> This AU began as a few not fully formed ideas that spiraled into this. I hope to have some fun with the tone of this fic.


End file.
